NOVANEWS
http://www.eappi.org/en/news/eappi-news/se/article/4834/settlers-attack-eas-with.html
[the website has pictures that do not appear here. Dorothy]
The settlers, all young men, started abusing the women verbally before attacking with stones and bottles (Picture: EAPPI).
Hardline Israeli settler youths assaulted three female Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) in Jerusalem on Monday, hurling rocks and bottles in an unprovoked attack.
An EA in her sixties was bruised on the arm when one of the young men threw a fist-sized rock at her. The group of around eight young men approached the women, shouting obscenities and making rude gestures before attacking. The EAs filmed the incident and it can be viewed on Youtube here.
The women had been visiting a Palestinian family in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood, a focal point of the Israeli authorities’ drive to “unify” the city as a Jewish capital.
As the EAs were off walking down the street, the group of young men approached them from behind, shouting, giving obscene gestures and throwing empty plastic bottles.
“We kept moving realising that this situation had the potential to escalate and become dangerous. They continued moving toward us with increasing aggression,” reported the EAs.
The settlers shouted “Go back to German,” (sic) and “This is Jewish” before at least one of them threw a rock, hitting an EA on the arm and bruising it. One of them raised his fist in the face of an EA but apparently decided not to hit her.
Following scuffles between settlers and local Palestinians, Israeli police arrived, but they took no details from the international who had been injured.
“The settlers immediately surrounded the police, giving their side of the story. We were actively trying to talk to the police but continually waved away,” reported the EAs.
They did manage to talk to the police for around one minute, but the police did not ask any of the EAs for specific details of the incident. A Palestinian was arrested, but police took no action against the settlers who started the confrontation.
Up to 28 large Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah face eviction to make way for illegal Israeli settlements. Israeli and international peace campaigners including EAs have maintained a constant presence here since last summer’s wave of evictions.
Settlers frequently and physically attack local Palestinians and try to scare internationals away, for example by aggressive taunts and throwing firecrackers at visiting groups.
The injured EA eventually filed a complaint at a police station and briefly visited hospital.
Shadi Fadda from Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines April 6, 2010 ~
Settlements/Land Theft and Destruction
OCHA: Land requisitioned for new checkpoint on 443
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces will confiscate 173.2 dunums of Palestinian land to construct a military checkpoint on highway 443, ordered open for Palestinian traffic by an Israeli court judge in December 2009.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=274094
PLO: Israel approves 3,226 houses in Jerusalem in March
RAMALLAH, April 5 (Xinhua) — Israel approved the construction of a total of 3,226 homes for Jews in the disputed East Jerusalem in March, a report by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said on Monday.
The biggest projects involved the building of 1,600 housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement and another 600 homes in a nearby settlement, the report said. Moreover, Jerusalem municipality has drawn up plans and is waiting an approval to build 50,000 houses in the comings months, according to the report.
Last month, a U.S. drive to resume negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians failed after Israel announced the approval of the 1,600 units in East Jerusalem. The proximity indirect talks, which the Washington proposed, were intended at handling the issue of the Palestinian state’s borders.
The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state, while the Israelis view Jerusalem as their indivisible capital.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-04/05/c_13238327.htm
Sheikh Jarrah: 2 Families handed eviction orders
Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israeli settler organizations joined together on Tuesday to hand court-issued eviction notices to two Sheikh Jarrah families, Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem affairs Hatim Abdul Qader said. The notices gave the Dajani and Dahoodi families 30 days to evacuate their homes, Abdul Qader said, bringing the total number of families facing eviction to eight.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=274434
Netanyahu at Mimouna: We will continue developing in Jerusalem
Some two million Israeli Jews will participate today in Mimouna, the traditional Moroccan festival marking the end of Passover, according to the World Federation of Moroccan Jewry.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara celebrated Mimouna with the Fahima family in Or Akiva, where Netanyahu said “We will continue developing in the north and the south, and certainly in Jerusalem.”
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161094.html
Under the beautiful valley
While the world’s eyes are riveted to the political arguments between the Obama Administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the ground Israel is covertly tightening its grip on Wadi Hilweh and al-Bustan neighborhoods in Silwan in a literally underground fashion.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11179.shtml
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
From the Interfaith Freedom Foundation <interfaithfreedom@sbcglobal.net>